


Without Question

by NamelesslyNightlock



Series: Going Down Swinging [42]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Asgardian Tony Stark, Communication, Confusion, Desperation, Established Relationship, False Memories, Feels, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Happy Ending, Loyalty, M/M, Mind Manipulation, Pain, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Trust, Understanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22388506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock
Summary: Anthony woke up with a terrible thought in his head, a thought that feels as real as a fact– but it can’t be true, it just can’t. Because no matter what his mind is telling him… Anthonyknowsthat Loki loves him, that he would never lay with anyone else.…right?
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Series: Going Down Swinging [42]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1330490
Comments: 49
Kudos: 571





	Without Question

**Author's Note:**

  * For [STARSdidathing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARSdidathing/gifts).



> Thanks STARS for once again offering up a brilliant plot ❤︎  
>   
>  **Prompt** — _“Why are you shaking?”_

Anthony woke up from a nightmare with a terrible thought in his head.

He knew that it wasn’t– that it couldn’t be true– _it couldn’t be_ , because Loki _wouldn’t_.

But it felt so real, it felt like the truth. It felt just as honest a thought as a _fact_ , as something solid and known to the whole world.

_The sky is blue._

_Heimdall sees all._

_Loki is not faithful._

Anthony could see it in his mind’s eye. He could see the slide of flesh, of moans that whispered a name other than his own, the desire that flared for _someone else_. He… he _knew_ that what he had seen was real. He knew it with all that he was.

But it wasn’t _right_.

It couldn’t be, because if it was, then… then everything that Anthony loved, everything that he cared about—

_No._

Anthony didn’t even remember deciding to go to the palace. He was too caught up in his thoughts, too much of a mess. Really, it was a wonder that the Einherjar even let him in, still in his sleep clothes, his feet bloody from his hurry because he hadn’t paused to put on shoes. It was lucky, he supposed, that his courtship with Loki was so well known, that they had been together long enough that the Einherjar treated him as if he were already Loki’s consort.

The thought only made Loki’s betrayal hurt all the more—

Or it would have, but the betrayal wasn’t real, not the truth– it was a _lie_.

It just had to be.

Anthony’s knock on Loki’s door was loud and frantic, and must have sounded hurried enough to cause the prince to worry for he pulled open his door a mere moment later, his seiðr still washing over him to tidy his hair and clothes as he did so.

When Loki’s eyes landed on him, they widened. “Anthony?” he asked, throwing the door wide. “Are you all right?”

Anthony couldn’t bring himself to answer. He just stared at Loki, his thoughts a mess, trying to stop himself from throwing an accusation or a punch or doing anything else that he felt like he _should_ – because he didn’t want to believe what he somehow knew to be real.

“Come inside,” Loki said, stepping away so that Anthony could do so, his hand reaching out to gently take Anthony’s arm as he led the way to his couch.

And it made Anthony feel sick, because his mind was telling him that this was a façade, that Loki was only pretending to care. That Loki didn’t want to be here, that he didn’t want to be with _Anthony_ – that Loki was yearning to go back into the arms of his _other_ lover, to go back to the person he was with whenever he wasn’t with Anthony.

The thought made Anthony stumble, and he stalled right where he was in the middle of the room, causing Loki to look back at him with increasing concern.

“Anthony… why are you shaking?” Loki asked, his other hand coming up to brush over Anthony’s cheek– and then he froze as Anthony instinctively flinched away.

He hadn’t meant to, because Loki’s touch always comforted him in a way that nothing else ever could. But when Loki’s hand had brushed over his skin, all he could see was those hands touching someone else.

Loki let his hand fall, and winced as he looked down to the ground. But then he gasped—

“You’re hurt,” Loki said. He looked back up, his eyes shining with confusion and fear. “Anthony, something’s wrong.”

“Yes,” Anthony said, the words pushed past gritted teeth. “Something is _very_ wrong.” He wasn’t sure whether the words came out as angry, or pained. It could have been either, it could have been both, because there were two sides at war inside him.

“What is it?” Loki asked. “How can I help? Anything, Anthony, you know that.”

 _Anything_. It was a promise long since made and _always_ kept, and the reminder was enough to tear the words from Anthony’s throat, to push against the truth he had somehow uncovered– the truth he still would not accept as anything other than a lie.

“Tell me it’s not true,” Anthony pleaded. “Tell me it isn’t, and I’ll believe you. Please, Loki, did I– I don’t know if I– maybe I did something, or– if it was me, if I did something wrong– but no, you wouldn’t, I know it, I _trust you—_ ”

“Anthony, you’re not making any sense,” Loki said. His eyes were wide, scared, and he reached up to cup Anthony’s cheeks with both of his hands– and he was shaking now, as well, but Anthony didn’t pull back, even though he felt like he should. In fact, his own hands came up to curl in Loki’s tunic, to twist into the material and hold on tight.

“Please,” Anthony asked– _begged_. “Loki, I know you wouldn’t, I– please, tell me what’s happening—”

“I don’t understand—”

“Loki, _please_.”

It was like there was a voice whispering in his ear, pressing against his mind, telling him that he needed to push Loki away because Loki was hurting him with every breath.

But Anthony loved Loki more fiercely than anything, and he wasn’t going to just… to just let this break them, not until he’d heard it from Loki himself.

“There’s something in my head,” he whispered, his voice hitching, his tears clinging to the tips of Loki’s fingers. “I know it’s not true, I know it, but it’s so real, and I– I can’t forget it. But I know you, and I know you love me, and I… but I _saw_ it.”

Loki still just looked confused. “What is it that you think you saw?”

And Anthony didn’t want to say it, but he knew that if he didn’t, then Loki wouldn’t be able to help. “I think I saw you with someone else,” Anthony said, speaking in little more than a broken gasp. Loki’s expression crumpled, and Anthony hurried to reassure him that– “I don’t want believe it, but it– it’s just so—”

“Anthony,” Loki said firmly, leaning forward, his thumbs stroking over Anthony’s cheeks and wiping at his tears. Somehow, he didn’t look angry. Just… concerned. “I would never do that. I love you with all that I am—”

“I know that,” Anthony insisted. “I know that, and I believe you, but I—” he cut himself off and squeezed his eyes closed, leaning forward and pressing their foreheads together. Loki’s fingers moved to thread though Anthony’s hair, and despite everything, Anthony just held on tighter. “Loki, I love you, but the memory of what you did– what I think you did– of what I _know_ you didn’t do—”

“ _Oh_ ,” Loki gasped. Anthony leaned back, wanting to see Loki’s expression, wanting to know what had caused his exclamation—

 _He’s upset that his infidelity has been discovered_ —

—but Loki just held him in place. Anthony could feel the brush of Loki’s seiðr against his skin, against his _mind_ , and for a moment half of him was panicked. But then _Loki_ leaned away, his eyes wide and bright.

“Anthony,” he whispered. “Someone has placed a spell on you.”

Anthony’s whole body shuddered, the words bringing horror and relief and pain and gratitude all at once. Because if it was a spell then it _wasn’t_ real, and that meant he had been right to trust Loki all along. It meant that Loki _did_ still love him, that they were going to be all right.

 _Loki could be lying_ , his mind whispered. _You know what you saw. He’s only trying to cover it up, he’s a master manipulator._

“Can you get rid of it?” Anthony asked desperately. “Make it go away, make it _stop—”_

“You would trust me to do that?” Loki asked, his eyes widening. “Even now?”

There was half a moment where Anthony’s answer was sure, because he knew in his heart that he trusted Loki with everything, immediately, without question– but what if Loki was right? What if Anthony shouldn’t? After all, Loki could just use this opportunity to wipe away the memory of what Anthony had seen, to merely remove the knowledge and start afresh without fear that he had been found out.

But Loki wouldn’t do that. Loki wouldn’t lie, not to him. Not about this.

“Yes,” Anthony said, going against everything his mind was screaming at him and focusing on those worried green eyes. “Loki, I trust you. Always.”

Loki’s expression hardened with determination, and Anthony closed his eyes and let the sensation of Loki’s seiðr wash over him. Loki was more than careful– in fact, he drew Anthony into the process, showed him every move that he made, how he untangled a web of seiðr that was tangled in his mind, how he pushed away that false memory and left everything clean and untouched, leaving only that which was Anthony himself.

With the confusion and the panic gone, Anthony felt the pain and the exhaustion of everything he had been through hit him like a wave. He fell forward, slumping against Loki– and Loki caught him, cradling him close as he guided them both toward the couch.

Anthony leaned heavily on Loki’s shoulder and curled into his side. Loki didn’t complain even when Anthony brought his bloodied feet onto the couch– in fact, he reached over to run his seiðr over them as well, cleaning out his wounds and closing the broken skin as best he could.

“Thank you,” Anthony said. “And for– for making all of _that_ go away, as well. I knew that you hadn’t done it. I knew it.”

Loki’s smile was gentle, and his lips were soft as he pressed them to Anthony’s forehead. “I’m the one who should be thanking you,” he said– and in the shadow of everything that had just happened, the calm sound of his voice was soothing.

But still, Anthony disagreed. “You just helped me—”

“You _trusted_ me,” Loki whispered, his voice reverent. “Even though the spell was telling you that you shouldn’t, you still trusted me.”

“Of course I did,” Anthony replied. “Even when… even when everything seemed like it was real, when I had that… _memory_ in my head. I knew that you loved me, and I knew that you wouldn’t do that to me. I know you, and I _love_ you. And I knew that something wasn’t right.”

Anthony tilted up his chin and caught Loki’s lips in a kiss. It was short but sweet, grounding, a reminder that wasn’t really something he _needed_ but which was more than welcome nonetheless.

“I can show you how to shield your mind,” Loki said as they parted. “I should have done so already. I’m so sorry, Anthony—”

“No,” Anthony said. “This wasn’t your fault, okay? And yeah, let’s make it so that it never happens again, but this was neither of our faults, okay?”

In fact, it was only the fault of whoever had woven the spell in the first place. And later, Anthony knew that Loki would be hunting down whoever had placed the spell on Anthony, whoever it was that had wanted to tear them apart.

But for now, they were more than content in each other’s arms, holding each other close and knowing that no matter what came for them, they were more than capable of holding firm.

“Very well,” Loki said, his hand stroking up Anthony’s side and then back down, soothing and warm. “But I shall still teach you.”

“Thank you,” Anthony said again.

“It would be my pleasure.”

And as Anthony rested his head on Loki’s shoulder and let Loki’s soothing hands calm his still racing heart, Anthony knew there was one truth that would always, _always_ stand over the rest, no matter what.

He and Loki loved each other– and that was more powerful than any spell ever could be.


End file.
